South African maize futures dipped on Tuesday on profit taking following the previous two sessions of solid gains due to relatively dry weather conditions.
The March 2012 white maize contract lost R45 to R2,423 per ton, the May 2012 white maize dipped R24 to R2,240 per ton, and July 2012 white maize shed R10 to R2,125 per ton, according to preliminary I-Net Bridge data.
The March 2012 yellow maize contract was down R58 to R2,440 per ton, the May 2012 yellow maize contract edged down R21 to R2,189 per ton and the July 2012 yellow maize contract was unchanged at R2,095 per ton.
“It is a combination of some profit taking and farmers hedging the current prices. The dry weather situation remains the same,” said Hansie Swanepoel, a trader at Vrystaat Mielies.
The March wheat contract gained R6 to R2,775 per ton, while May wheat was up R6 to R2,833 per ton but the July 2012 wheat contract shed R5 to R2,870 per ton.
Meanwhile, Dow Jones Newswires reported that a two-week rally in US soybean futures ended on Monday as traders decided to book profits amid concerns over the strength of Chinese demand. - I-Net Bridge